Pokémon Battle Revolution
Pokémon Battle Revolution (ポケモンバトルレボリューション - Pokémon Batoru Reboryūshon in Japan) is the first Wii Pokémon game and the first Wii game to use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection in North America and Japan and to wirelessly interact with the Nintendo DS handheld. Pokémon Battle Revolution is set on Pokétopia, a Pokémon-themed park, which features eleven colosseums. Some stadiums have their own special effects, such as randomizing the order of one's Pokémon, other effects include choosing the order of an opponent's Pokémon and setting level limitations. This was the first Pokémon game to be rated 7+ by PEGI, as all other Pokémon games have been rated 3+. Gameplay The game features 12 different colosseums, each with special changes to normal play or prerequisites and a Colosseum Leader. The Crystal Colosseum holds battles in a 16-person single-elimination tournament mode. The Gateway Colosseum is only open to a rental pass holder, and Neon Colosseum uses a wheel to choose the player's and opponent's battling Pokémon. As the player progresses, the Pokémon available to rent become more powerful. The player also earns Poké-Coupons, the currency of this game. Coupons can be spent to further customize the player character. A trainer's apparel, accessories, hair color and, in non-Japanese versions, skin color can be changed. Pokémon attacks are also much more diverse, with each Pokémon acquiring its own animation for most moves in the game. Some animations feature both the attacking and defending Pokémon on screen at the same time. In previous console titles, the game only showed one Pokémon attacking and then cut away to the second getting hit by the attack. Along with connectivity to the Nintendo DS games, a player can win Pokémon from this game and transfer them back to their DS games through Mystery Gift. This feature allows players to obtain Pokémon that are either hard or impossible to get without using a cheat device. To unlock the Pokémon, players must achieve certain goals or enter a special code. So far, Electivire and Magmortar are the only Pokémon that can be obtained through the latter method. A Pikachu with special moves can be obtained by beating each Colosseum once. In addition to the Pokémon download, players can purchase items like certain Technical Machines and evolution items. Online functionality Battle Revolution is the first Pokémon home console title to go online in the United States as well as the first online game for the Wii console. It features two online modes; Battle with a Friend, which allows a player to battle a friend using its own 12-digit friend code, separate from the Wii console number, and Battle with Someone, which lets the player face off against a random opponent. The game uses a separate friend code than the one introduced in Diamond and Pearl. Each save file has its own friend code in order to keep the friend rosters of players within the same household separate. After each random battle, players are given the chance to exchange trainer passes. The exchange must be mutual; it will not work if one of the two trainers refuses. Nintendo DS controls cannot be used in online multiplayer. When playing random online battles, the player's trainer's custom greetings and Pokémon nicknames are all changed to its native nation's defaults; for example, a Japanese will show its Japanese name instead of its English one. All Pokémon are allowed in random battles apart from Arceus because it has not officially been released in Japan. Development The game was first announced by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata at a Nintendo marketing event in Japan on June 7]2006. At the event, Iwata described Wii-to-DS connectivity using the game as an example, stating that gamers with either [[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl|''Pokémon Diamond'', Pearl, or Platinum ]] can play battles using their Diamond or Pearl or Platinum Pokémon in Pokémon Battle Revolution using their DS as a controller. The DS linkup feature was accessible at 2006 Nintendo World Tour for the first time. As well as allowing Pokémon from a Pokémon Diamond or Pearl cartridge to be used in-game, it replaces the on-screen battle menu normally used in conjunction with the Wii Remote. The GameCube controller is not compatible with this game. The battle menu is displayed on the DS touchscreen instead, and it is navigated with the stylus. Up to eight players can play in a 1-on-1 tournament much like the Battle Frontier Battle Dome in Pokémon Emerald. The game was originally set to feature destructible landscapes (for example, a Hyper Beam attack would result in the ground cracking). This feature was later removed from the final version of the game due to the overwhelming amount of realism it would add to the Pokémon franchise, thus bumping up its ESRB rating from "Everyone" to 'Everyone 10+." Reception Pokémon Battle Revolution has received average to poor reviews from critics. It received a score of 5.0 out of 10 from IGN, which cites that the game omits several features demonstrated in previous games like Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Colosseum, such as a role-playing mode. The multiplayer and online functionality of the game is also criticized for lacking functions such as tournament play. Gamespot gave the game a mediocre 5.5 out of 10 score, criticizing the repetitive gameplay and the barebones online support, as well as the fact that if one didn't have Pokémon Diamond or Pearl for the DS, there isn't nearly as much to do. Game Informer rated it a 5.75 out of 10 saying the same things as Gamespot, and adding their own comment about a tutorial that taught you how to point the Wii Remote. Nintendo Power rated it a 6.5 out of 10, praising the game's multiplayer while criticizing its lack of single player features. Famitsu gave a positive review to the game, with a score of 35 out of 40. The most positive review is from Game Oracle who gave 75% who praised the online mode, graphics and soundtrack. They criticised it for not being as good as XD Gale of Darkness and the necessity of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl to open the entire game experience. The game currently has a 53% average of 23 aggregated reviews on both Game Rankings and Metacritic . References External links * Official Pokémon Battle Revolution Webpage (English - Great Britain) * Official Pokémon Battle Revolution Webpage (North America) * Official Pokémon Battle Revolution Webpage * Pokémon Battle Revolution at IGN * Pokémon Battle Revolution at GameSpot * The Shocking Secret Gift page at Pokémon-Games. da:Pokémon Battle Revolution es:Pokémon Battle Revolution fr:Pokémon Battle Revolution it:Pokémon Battle Revolution nl:Pokémon Battle Revolution ja:ポケモンバトルレボリューション no:Pokémon Battle Revolution pt:Pokémon Battle Revolution fi:Pokémon Battle Revolution sv:Pokémon Battle Revolution Category:2006 video games Category:Genius Sonority games Category:Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection games Battle Revolution Category:Wii-only games Category:Wii Wi-Fi games Category:Wii games